" What is the mystery of your opening lines? The first time I read the start of one of your books, it took my breath away. Is it a special element in your writing, something you pay particular attention to? Or do those first sentences write themselves?
Ferrante: I generally need a beginning that gives me the impression of being on the right path. It rarely comes right away, but it happens. Mostly I work and rework for a long time. Sometimes, after several attempts, I may seem to have found the beginning that's useful to me, and I go on. But then I realize that it has led me astray, that I'm struggling. What decides if a beginning is good or not is the energy with which the story starts to flow.

Joos: The Irish writer Anne Enright once told me that the first page is of primary importance. "Read all the classics," she said, "it's all there, right from the start." Do you agree with her? In what sense (or not)? Can the importance of that first sentence be paralyzing for you?
Ferrante: I don't know if everything is in the beginning. Of course, I look for first words as a magic formula that can open the only true door to the story. Often the first sentences are found at the end of a long journey of writing. Then I have to have the strength to throw away everything except those few words, and start again from there. Otherwise readers will have the impression that the truth and the power of the story are coming in too late. "

― Elena Ferrante , La frantumaglia